2nd November 2023UK children and adults to be safer online as world-leading bill becomes law.
The Online Safety Act (October 2023) makes social media companies accountable for keeping the internet safe for children, and gives adults more choice over what children see.
The act takes a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children from online harm, and if social media companies fail to comply with the rules they will face significant fines that could reach billions of pounds, furthermore; if they do not take steps required by Ofcom to protect children, their bosses could even face prison.
Link to press release:
UK children and adults to be safer online as world-leading bill becomes law – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The majority of the Act’s provisions will commence in two months’ time. However, the government has commenced key provisions early to establish Ofcom as the online safety regulator from today and allow them to begin key preparatory work such as consulting as quickly as possible to implement protections for the country.